Losing Ground - Human Rights Party.

Losing Ground
Where:
Nature of Complaint:
Concession size:
Concession holder:
Affected villages:
Complaint to:
Memoth district, Kampong Cham province.
Encroachment of farmland and forest, land grabbing
More than 10,000 hectares
Bigimexco Sothy Aphivath Co Ltd
Three (Kohthmor, Changkorm 1, and Changkorm Kandal) in Tonlung commune
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Technical Secretariat for Economic Land Concessions *
* Copies to: Prime Minister Hun Sen, Office of the Council of Ministers, provincial governor, provincial Department of Environment, provincial Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries.
The complaint says 535 ethnic Stieng families in three villages
are threatened by the concession and that the company has
been clearing farmland and forest since 2006. It says the
company has taken 10,603 hectares: 3,000 belonging to
Koh Thmor village, 4,271 belonging to Changkorm1 village
and 3,332 belonging to Changkorm Kandal village. The
complaint was accompanied
by four photographs of land
clearing and the thumbprints
of 535 household heads.
The loss of community
forest and land has deprived
households of sources of
income, such as non-timber forest products and land
reserved for future generations. It adds their plan to register
the area as indigenous community land has been obstructed.
Mango groves, grazing land, spirit forests and farm fields
have been destroyed. The complaint says the land is integral
to their identity as ethnic Stieng people.
The residents also include a message to the
premier conveying their hope that he, his children and
grandchildren find “happiness, longevity, health, wisdom
and prosperity forever.”
The complaint calls for the cancellation of the concession,
return of the land to communities and recognition that
they own it. They request that they be allowed manage and
safeguard the area and that government officials consult with
them before granting any concession in their vicinity. They
state that they will reject any economic land concession
granted without consent of
their communities.
The complaint includes
a direct appeal to Prime
Minister Hun Sen for his
assistance in resolving the
conflict and ensuring justice
for the affected communities, and informs him that the
concession is driving them into poverty.
The residents also include a message to the premier
conveying their hope that he, his children and grandchildren
find “happiness, longevity, health, wisdom and prosperity
forever”.
Residents of Memoth district allege the employees
of Bigimexco Sothy Aphivath is clearing their land
and setting spirit forests afire. More than 2,000
people face the loss of their land and livelihoods as
a result of the concession, according to a complaint
filed last year.
64 Forced Evictions and Intimidation in Cambodia